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The last time I wrote I was fresh back from the heat of Texas and having a hard time finding words to describe all that was going on in life. Today I am back in Texas. It is still hot. And I am still having a hard time coming up with suitable words. What’s different is the nature of the heat. Less to do about the physical climate (though it’s still pretty darn toasty!) More to do with the political climate. Who knew it was possible for it to get even more heated? And yet here we are.
So much has already been written about the spate of gun violence in the U.S. in recent weeks that has taken multiple lives and terrorized even more. A number of the shootings have been described as random, senseless acts of violence, which feels like a pretty apt description. Except that then when a shooting is not random, we think that we will be able to find sense in it. That we’ll be able to know why it happened. That we’ll be able to pinpoint the one thing that, if different, would have altered the trajectory of events.
A variety of “one things” have been touted:
- More tolerance for free speech
- Greater care for the words we use in order to de-escalate tensions
- A cessation of “hate”
- More regulation of guns, especially assault weapons
- Increased funding for mental health
I’m sure there are more. Those are just the ones I’ve heard most.
My mind goes to the preaching I heard at College Church the Sunday after 9/11 in 2001, when the priest told us that we should not even try to find a reason. The nature of evil is such that it doesn’t make sense. There is no logic to be found. No explanation to be had.
I still hold to that. I continue to be shocked whenever I hear of another shooting, and I’d like it to remain that way. I don’t want to normalize these events or think that they are just a part of human existence. At some level, events like the ones we’ve witnessed of late should remain “un-understandable.”
At the same time, of course, we don’t want to perceive ourselves as powerless against the violent impulses of our time and nature. There are things that we can do to decrease violence in our country. Our best chance of doing so, however, requires moving away from the notion of “one thing” being the solution, and better embracing the use of the word “and.”
No one’s life should be taken away at the hand of another. That includes children and it includes political activists and it also includes teens/young adults who have done horrible things.
We should be able to express our opinions without fear of retaliation and we should hold ourselves accountable for how we go about forming our opinions, acknowledging not all opinions are created equal.
We should be prophetic truthtellers and we should also recognize none of us possess the fullness of truth and have things to learn from others, even those we don’t like.
We should be free to say things that are unpopular. We can’t control if others get mad. And we can acknowledge there are less inflammatory and less hurtful ways to communicate our beliefs. We should take no pride in stoking anger.
We can seek to increase funding for mental health and we can also advocate for sensible gun regulation.
We can point out to others the hate we’ve experienced in their speech and actions and also accept that others have experienced our speech and actions as hateful, whether intended or not.
The temptation of the present moment is to use the word “or” or “but” in our conversations rather than the word “and.” We don’t need to pick “one thing” to explain the cause or to chart the path forward. We have the capacity to hold on to more than one conviction at the same time and not see beliefs as mutually exclusive.
I am moved to see so many communities right now trying to take an “and” approach. Communities trying hard not to react to events with rage and defensiveness but with carefully chosen words and a bigger vision. Naming their sadness and grief, but not passing on their anger. One congregation I’ve been tracking in recent weeks is St. Timothy’s in Blaine, MN where following the gun violence at Annunciation Catholic School, they’ve taken up the pledge for peacemaking. There are many others.
The past couple days I’ve been in Hunt, TX staying with friends Autumn and David in between two speaking engagements for the Diocese of San Antonio. It is a place I’ve often come and loved. A beautiful hill country filled with wildflowers and the lazy Guadalupe River rolling through the middle, cypress trees shading the banks.
That is until this past July 4th when in the middle of the night a torrent of water raced through valley taking up trees and cabins and cars and the lives of 115 persons, including the lives of 27 girls at a local summer camp. It has faded from the news cycle now, but when you drive through, you know the story is in no way over. There are still memorial services going on. There are slabs without houses. Trees stripped of their bark and leaning at 45 degree angles. The landscape is scarred in a way that feels quite permanent, except that there are places where the grass is growing back, and you are stunned by the tenacity of the earth. There are big trucks continuing every day to haul off the massive wreckage, one load at a time. There are many, many people still at work in orange vests up and down the banks.
And as naked and ravaged as the land looks right now, it also feels strangely like a scene of hope because of the countless ways individuals are trying to heal and rebuild the community here. They have not given up their efforts to patch things up despite the losses they’ve suffered.
As I get ready to leave Hunt to once again engage in more talks and workshops on de-escalating conflict and the importance of truth, I want to keep this picture in front of me. We are walking through a deeply scarred national landscape right now. This is not going to be healed quickly. And at the same time, every small effort matters. Every “and” turns down the temperature a notch.
Because I believe this issue is so important and urgent, I’ve begun to share more content from my book Let’s Talk About Truth at no cost online. In particular, I invite you to check out this essay on how to form good opinions and enter into discussion with those who don’t have the same opinion (based on Chapter 2 from the book).
Wishing you some peace this week.